Rabbi Bernard Raskas (1924 - 2010), who led Temple of Aaron synagogue of St. Paul, Minnesota for 37 years, here gives a detailed account of his life and times as one of the most prominent leaders of the Twin Cities Jewish community. Highlights...

In this interview, Jeff Oestreich (1947-) discusses growing up in White Bear Lake; early experiences with music and art; undergraduate education at Bemidji State University; graduate studies with Warren MacKenzie at the University of Minnesota;...

Edie Abnet (1947-) is a painter who was married to the late Richard Abnet (1934-2011) , a potter and founding host of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. In this interview, Abnet discusses her husband's childhood in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and...

Will Swanson (1947-) grew up in Minnesota and studied ceramics, art and design at the University of Minnesota. After working at Fairview Hospital for fifteen years, Swanson married Janel Jacobson and began making pottery full-time at their home...

Lorntsen, Conrad, tape 1, side2, narrator. He was of Norwegian descent. His spouse Fern Williams Lorntsen was present throughout the interview. Mr. Lorntsen is retired. He was interviewed at Mr. Lorntsen's home in Beaver Bay, Minnesota, by...

In this interview, Warren MacKenzie (1924-) discusses his childhood and early experience with art; being drafted in 1943; his early ceramic education and studies at the Chicago Art Institute; his first wife, the late Alix MacKenzie, who was also a...

In an oral history, Herb Anderson describes his family coming to Crow Wing County from Sweden experiences he had as a youngster, encounters his famly had with Indians, his parents starting a resort, and general information about the area in the...

Keith Meland (1938 - ) grew up in Saint Louis Park and was a long time city council member. In this interview, the history of the development of Saint Louis Park, city policies and goals regarding development and expansion of residential and...

Ragnvald Sve was of Norwegian descent. His spouse was Ragnhild Jacobson Sve. They were married to each other for 51 year. He is one of several people presently allowed a license to fish trout in Lake Superior. He was interviewed at the Sve home in...

In an oral history, Mrs. Burton (Clara) Stanley relates the tough times as a child, not being able to start school until 8 years old in 1903, and only going until the 4th grade because she then had to go to work. She also talks about what various...

Richard Vincent (1955-) grew up in White Bear Lake and studied pottery in high school and at Lakewood Community College in Minnesota. In this interview, Vincent discusses his childhood; ceramics education; teaching experience; the establishment of...

In an oral history, Mrs. William Dickson discusses her family coming to Crow Wing County in the late 1800s, her early schooling, her German-born father's feelings about World War I, and the Depression years.

In this interview, Manual (Mandy) Ruder (1914 - ) gives an account of his life as a Jewish Minnesotan. Special attention is afforded to his family background, including information about his Romanian and Zionist parents farming in Palestine, their...

Ada Rubenstein (1917 - ) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; became involved with Jewish organizations at an early age and later took on several leadership positions. In this interview, the women discuss Rubenstein's career in community service and...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: The Woidas were farmers and powerline opponents from Sauk Centre in Stearns County. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Learning about the powerline project. Effect of the line on farm-placement of tower and position of line; spraying;...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: The Woidas were farmers and powerline opponents from Sauk Centre in Stearns County. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Learning about the powerline project. Effect of the line on farm-placement of tower and position of line; spraying;...

Ada Rubenstein (1917 - ) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; became involved with Jewish organizations at an early age and later took on several leadership positions. In this interview, the women discuss Rubenstein's career in community service and...

Guillermo Cuellar (1951 - ) was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, grew up in Caracas, and came to the United States to attend high school. He subsequently studied ceramics at Cornell College in Iowa. After graduation he returned to Venezuela and...

Connee Mayeron-Cowles (1949 - ) grew up in Saint Louis Park, studied pottery at the University of Minnesota under Curt Hoard and Warren MacKenzie, and was a co-founder of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. In this interview, Mayeron-Cowles...

Robert (Bob) Briscoe (1947- ) grew up in Kansas City, Kansas and studied pottery with James Vandergriff in Zarah, Kansas, then with Lou Wynne in Colorado Springs, before moving to Minnesota where he established his pottery studio and co-founded the...

Janet Koplos is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communications and earned a masters degree in art history from Illinois State University. She has been writing regularly on all art mediums for...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Martin was born and raised on a farm in North Dakota. He served in the Air Force for four years and then attended the University of North Dakota where he received a degree in business administration with a major in...

In this interview, Ken Tilsen gives a brief account of his life as a Jewish Minnesotan and lawyer, touching also on Minnesota politics. He was born in Leipzig, North Dakota, to parents of eastern European heritage. An account is given as to why...

In an oral history, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Dropping talks about various topics including his family moving to the Jenkins area in 1901, his life growing up on a farm, her career as a teacher, and life during the Depression years.

The oral history of Maybelle Skou and Bev Johnson describes life in Schroeder, Minnesota, in the 1950s and 1960s including a root beer stand in Schroeder, Minnesota, teen dances, square dances, Vivian Johnson and Tord Johnson, accidents and...

In this interview, Rabbi Kassel Abelson speaks of his life, times, and views regarding Judaism. Abelson spent over forty years as senior Rabbi at Beth El synagogue in North Minneapolis and later Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, serving as a leader in...

Ingeborg Holte was of Swedish descent, spouse Edwin Holte (died in 1971) fished as did her father but Ingeborg did not fish; Mrs. Holte is Sam Johnson's and Edwin C. "Steve" Johnson's sister; interviewed at Mrs. Holte's home in Grand Marais,...

In an oral history, Oscar Gravdahl talks about growing up on a farm near Pequot lakes in the ealy 1900s, his schooling, his work in a logging camp and with the railroad, what Pequot Lakes was like and conditions that existed during the Depression,...

In an oral history, Burton Stanley tells of arriving in the Pequot Lakes area in 1900, riding on a logging train on a 50 below zero February day. He also talks about his work in the logging industry working with a team of horses, repairing early...

In this interview, Roz Baker (1923 - ) gives an account of her life as a Jewish native of Minneapolis. She relates her family background which includes an immigration story to the United States from Russia through Cypress in 1915. She describes her...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Barsness was a farmer from Cyrus, Pope County. She freelanced as a reporter on the powerline controversy for KMRS Radio and several newspapers in Pope County. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Getting involved in the powerline...

Linda Christianson (1952-) grew up in Barron, Wisconsin, and studied ceramics at Hamline University (St Paul, Minnesota), and the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts (Banff, Alberta, Canada), before returning to Minnesota to start her own ceramics...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Barsness was a farmer from Cyrus, Pope County. She freelanced as a reporter on the powerline controversy for KMRS Radio and several newspapers in Pope County. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Getting involved in the powerline...

In this interview, Theatrice ""T"" Williams (1934 - ) gives his personal background and reasons for arriving in Minneapolis in the 1960s as a social worker on the North Side. Williams describes his relationship with the Phyllis Wheatley Center...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Pick was a native of Wisconsin. She moved to Minneapolis in 1975 to attend school and work. While attending school on and off, she taught in special programs for emotionally disturbed children, worked in the theater, and...

In an oral history, Emery Dibble discusses several topics including moving to Crow Wing County via a covered wagon pulled by a team of oxen, a fire destroying all of his family's possessions, his mother having to work to support the family, his...

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: The Fuchs were farmers and protest leaders from Belgrade, Stearns County. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: How they learned about the line. Communicating with other farmers about the line. Preventing power company obtaining easements...

In this interview, Morris Sherman gives an account of his life as a Jewish Minnesotan and legal practitioner. He was born in Minneapolis in 1935 to immigrant parents from Romania, about which he gives further detail. Sherman recalls being raised on...

In an oral history, Mrs. Ed (Jessie) Berg describes her family coming to Crow Wing County, her experiences as a teacher starting in 1903, her husband's work, and her thoughts on various historical events.

In an oral history, Albert Bye describes his parents coming from Norway to Minnesota, his family life growing up starting with his birth in 1894, him being drafted during World War I, and his life as a young adult.

The oral history of Wes Morris describes life in the woods as a child in Schroeder, Minnesota. Morris describes unusual childhood punishment, the sulfur treatment for scabies and the teachings of Uncle Tord and Aunt Vivian Johnson. He recalls...

In this interview, Gene Broughten talks about his time at Wilson Campus School, the changes that happened in 1968, and what he did after Wilson closed. This oral history interview was conducted as part of the Wilson Campus School Oral History...

In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on January 30, 1980, John Weismann briefly discussed his family background. He was born on January 13, 1901, on a farm on Golden Lake, Minnesota,...